A special trio at Kinston

The three brothers from left Sam, Taishu and Alan McLawhorn all play baseball for Kinston High School.

Janet S. Carter / The Free Press

By Justin Hill / Correspondent

Published: Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 11:08 PM.

There were a lot of directions Kinston’s baseball team could have taken this season — a young team and a first-year coach, all under the shadow of the recent success of both the school’s basketball and football programs. However, with just four games left on the season, the Vikings have a legitimate shot of finishing the regular season at .500.

One of the secrets to the Vikings’ success — although the team is 1-4 in the East Carolina 2A conference and they have held their own in nearly every game — has been the hot bat of senior Taishu McLawhorn.

“He’s one of my most versatile players,” Kinston coach Ryan Buie said of McLawhorn. “He plays first base, he pitches, he’s our backup catcher … anything I ask him to do, he’s going to do his best.”

The righty has done a little bit of everything for Kinston (9-9) this season and is batting .490 through 18 games. He’s plated 12 RBI on 24 hits so far.

But McLawhorn has some familiar company on the field this year in both of his brothers, sophomore twins Sam and Alan.

According to MaxPreps.com, the trio has combined for 56 of the team’s 152 hits (nearly 37 percent of the offense) and 26 of the team’s 77 RBI (34 percent). In fact, Taishu and Sam (along with seniors Will Deters and Ryan Harrell) are ranked among the top four in nearly every major offensive statistical category this season.

“They each hit the ball,” Buie said of the trio. “And they help us out a lot in the field.”

There were a lot of directions Kinston’s baseball team could have taken this season — a young team and a first-year coach, all under the shadow of the recent success of both the school’s basketball and football programs. However, with just four games left on the season, the Vikings have a legitimate shot of finishing the regular season at .500.

One of the secrets to the Vikings’ success — although the team is 1-4 in the East Carolina 2A conference and they have held their own in nearly every game — has been the hot bat of senior Taishu McLawhorn.

“He’s one of my most versatile players,” Kinston coach Ryan Buie said of McLawhorn. “He plays first base, he pitches, he’s our backup catcher … anything I ask him to do, he’s going to do his best.”

The righty has done a little bit of everything for Kinston (9-9) this season and is batting .490 through 18 games. He’s plated 12 RBI on 24 hits so far.

But McLawhorn has some familiar company on the field this year in both of his brothers, sophomore twins Sam and Alan.

According to MaxPreps.com, the trio has combined for 56 of the team’s 152 hits (nearly 37 percent of the offense) and 26 of the team’s 77 RBI (34 percent). In fact, Taishu and Sam (along with seniors Will Deters and Ryan Harrell) are ranked among the top four in nearly every major offensive statistical category this season.

“They each hit the ball,” Buie said of the trio. “And they help us out a lot in the field.”

He added, “Sam and Alan are different, but they do bring a lot to the team.”

“They’re fearless and they’ve seen (Taishu) stepping up for us for four years, so they’re coming in prepared to follow in his footsteps in their own way.”

For the brothers, playing together is a unique experience. While Sam and Alan, who like their older brother play a host of positions, have always played together, this is the first chance they’ve had to compete with their older brother. Taishu said that he wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Coming into last year, when they were freshman, I thought it was it was going to be weird having them around in a locker room atmosphere,” Taishu said. “But I think they’ve made the easily transition. I don’t really think of them as my brothers (while we’re playing).”

Sam said there are some expectations that come with being Taishu’s brother, especially with the season he has had so far.

“Some people compare whatever we do to the big brother,” he said. “But it’s not a problem.”

Alan said that having experience playing baseball has helped him fit in on the team.

“We’ve got to help out the players that haven’t played as much,” Sam said. “It’s cool (having Taishu around).”

Taishu said with just a few games remaining, he is trying to make the most of playing baseball with his younger brothers.

“I’ve seen them play my entire life,” he said. “I know what they can do (and when I graduate) it’s time for them to step up.”